Northumbrian Water Group
“All of the research we have carried out informs us that providing accessible formats is essential.”
Denise Bedford, Customer Policy Coordinator
An element of the single duty equalities act informs service providers of their duty to provide a range of access to their goods facilities and services.
Embedded within this, from the old disability Discrimination Act, now part of the single duty Equality Act, is the requirement to provide accessible formats for those who are print impaired.
This impacts on a range of organisations such as utility companies, banks and telecoms organisations. Although many, such as Northumbrian Water, had seen the benefit of providing information in accessible formats to their customers, not all had done this.
When asked why Northumbrian Water had chosen to do this before the old DDA came into force, Denise Bedford Customer Policy Coordinator said; “We use an external provider for our alternative format literature to ensure the formatting is consistent and guaranteed to meet accessibility guidelines. We also maintain a register of vulnerable Customers, not all print impaired, which aids us in keeping our client base informed. Having information from a company like ours in a format that can be understood is crucial, especially for vital services like water.”
Denise went on to say;